Of a certain determinate form or shape; resembling something of a determinate figure: as, figurate stones (stones or fossils resembling shells).

Involving a figure of speech; figurative.

In music, characterized by the use of passing-notes; florid: opposed to simple: as, figurate counterpoint. Also figural, figurative, figured.

To figure or represent.

adjective. Of a definite form or figure.

adjective. Figurative; metaphorical.

adjective. Florid; figurative; involving passing discords by the freer melodic movement of one or more parts or voices in the harmony.

adjective. that which is not simple, or in which the parts do not move together tone for tone, but in which freer movement of one or more parts mingles passing discords with the harmony; -- called also figural, figurative, and figured counterpoint or descant (although the term figured is more commonly applied to a bass with numerals written above or below to indicate the other notes of the harmony).

adjective. undefined

adjective. numbers, or series of numbers, formed from any arithmetical progression in which the first term is a unit, and the difference a whole number, by taking the first term, and the sums of the first two, first three, first four, etc., as the successive terms of a new series, from which another may be formed in the same manner, and so on, the numbers in the resulting series being such that points representing them are capable of symmetrical arrangement in different geometrical figures, as triangles, squares, pentagons, etc.

adjective. Forming a figure.

""figurate" poems, i.e. the letters of each verse, being arranged with due regularity, form artistic designs."

figurate number  

figurate descant  

figurate number  

figurative  florid  metaphorical